Giant Studio Model Of Broken Arrow’s B-3 Stealth Bomber Is On The Auction Block

The movie was pretty bad, but its B-3 stealth bomber model is pretty damn good!

byTyler Rogoway|
U.S. Air Force photo
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Do you remember the John Travolta and Christian Slater flick Broken Arrow? No? You are probably not alone. The nuclear weapons heist yarn wasn't exactly a cinematic tour de force and today it garners about 2.5 out of five stars in terms of reviews, but to military aviation nerds it was something of a 1990s cult classic. Now, the true star of this John Woo-directed action flick can be yours! That's right, the fictional 'B-3' stealth bomber showcased in the film is being auctioned off, well at least the giant studio model of it, and you know what? It actually was a pretty awesome and realistic design in retrospect!

The listing over at Propstoreauction.com reads as such:

A B-3 Stealth Bomber model miniature from John Woo's action thriller Broken Arrow. Vic Deakins (John Travolta) hijacked the B-3 Stealth Bomber from his co-pilot Riley Hale (Christian Slater) in an attempt to steal the nuclear missiles that the plane was carrying.

Constructed by visual effects group Hunter/Gratzner, this large-scale model miniature consists of a fiberglass shell painted gunmetal gray and black with dark-tinted plastic windows, then hand-detailed with white text and graphic decals and mounted to a black steel display stand. Also included are seven original blueprints from the construction of the model.

This lot is in good overall condition with some signs of wear from production use, including a pair of production-made rectangular holes cut out of the top sections of the engines and various scuffs and scratches throughout.

The Prop Store
The Prop St
The Prop Store

Now here is the kicker—when I said giant, I meant it. This thing is 1/20th in scale and basically eight feet wide and seven and a half feet long! It also has an upright stand arrangement that is pretty awesome for display. 

Often times, these big movie models of ships and such have weird mounting points, large protrusions and other unsightly features used for positioning during filming. This one really doesn't and it would work as a display item pretty seamlessly. And you get the sweet blueprints as a bonus to go full on Area 51 with your study or movie room.

The Prop Store
The Prop Store
The Prop Store

As I mentioned earlier, superficially speaking, this thing actually looks pretty damn awesome and not that outlandish in terms of design. With that being said, there are some glaring low-observable issues with it.

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Video thumbnail

Don't worry, I am not going to break down the design piece by piece. The fact is that it still looks great and, frankly, I really want it for... something. Honestly, maybe the Air Force should have wanted it, as in something similar that actually flies and can nuke enemy bunkers, too. 

Now you probably want it as well! The good news is you can have it. The B-3 model will be sold to the highest bidder on Tuesday, June 29th. The auction will begin at 9:00am PDT. The starting bid is $5,000 with an expected winning price of between $10,000 and $15,000. Not bad for one hell of a conversation piece!

Contact the author: Tyler@thedrive.com

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